Training Ends

Sasuke watched Naruto's shurikenjutsu display, and though he was shocked internally, he habitually put up a front.

"It's just okay, still far from our Uchiha-style shurikenjutsu."

Naruto didn't retort, just smiled faintly, raised his hands, and formed a cross-hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu."

With a few bangs, over a dozen Shadow Clones instantly appeared.

Immediately after, they scattered simultaneously, moving the ten wooden targets used for kunai training in the center of the training ground.

Some Shadow Clones hid the wooden targets behind a large tree in the forest behind them.

Some were directly in front, and others were dispersed into blind spots around the area, completely surrounding every section of the training ground.

After positioning them all, the Shadow Clones automatically dispelled.

Sasuke's pupils contracted slightly.

These weren't ordinary Genjutsu clones; they were real clones.

This Ninjutsu was definitely B-rank, a difficulty for a Jonin...

Naruto, just how much more strength are you hiding?

Before Sasuke could speak, Naruto held a kunai in each hand, flicked his wrists, and four more kunai instantly appeared in each hand.

Seeing this moment, Sasuke felt as if he had lived through an era, as if he were back in the past, witnessing his brother Itachi training...

Naruto slightly closed his eyes, without looking at his surroundings, and threw his hands forward simultaneously.

Ten kunai flew out rapidly, crisscrossing and colliding in the air, emitting crisp clang sounds, their trajectories unpredictable.

Finally, they accurately embedded themselves into the bullseyes of the ten different targets, including those hidden behind trees and in blind spots.

Sasuke subconsciously looked around at the targets, his mouth slightly agape, unable to hide his inner shock.

He even quickly walked to the target behind the tree to confirm.

The kunai was dead center in the bullseye, not off by even a millimeter.

This was Uchiha-style shurikenjutsu, and it was used with extreme proficiency.

Perhaps even...

No!

Sasuke dared not think further.

He was unwilling to admit it, but a voice in his heart said that perhaps even that Uchiha Itachi...

Naruto looked at Sasuke's stunned expression, smiled slightly, and asked softly, "Want to learn? I'll teach you."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, his face flushing slightly. He finally averted his gaze, his voice low with forced calmness that couldn't hide his awkwardness, "It's indeed good... Can you teach me?"

"Of course."

Naruto agreed without hesitation, as if he had been waiting for these words.

For the next period, Naruto meticulously explained the details of applying force and calculating angles for Uchiha-style shuriken to Sasuke.

He also pointed out some subtle flaws in Sasuke's Taijutsu force application and provided methods for improvement.

Sasuke learned with extreme focus, and being a genius himself, he improved rapidly under Naruto's explanation.

Despite being utterly exhausted, he could clearly feel that in just this short half-day, both his shurikenjutsu and his Taijutsu combat style had significantly improved.

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was afternoon.

Sasuke, exhausted from the high-intensity training, collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

In contrast, Naruto's breathing was steady, as if the high-intensity teaching and demonstrations earlier hadn't consumed much of his stamina.

Sasuke couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Naruto, his mind filled with questions again.

Why wasn't he tired at all?

Just how incredible was his stamina?

Naruto looked at Sasuke sprawled on the ground, knowing that the day's training had reached the limit of his body. He said, "Let's end today's training here. Get some good rest. Tomorrow's graduation briefing is the real focus."

Sasuke nodded, managed to get up, looked at Naruto's still relaxed demeanor, and finally asked nothing, only saying softly, "See you tomorrow."

The reason Naruto suddenly decided to end the training.

Was because he had long noticed a familiar figure in the woods at the edge of the training ground, who had been silently watching him and Sasuke for quite some time.

It wasn't the ever-present Root or Anbu.

It was Hinata.

Naruto's thoughts drifted.

In a past Reincarnation, to resolve Neji's heavy hatred, Naruto delved deep into the Hyuga Clan's past.

He also heard Hinata's story from her own lips.

As the legitimate daughter of the Hyuga Main Family, Hinata disliked conflict by nature, which is why her strength always fell short of Neji, the genius from the Branch Family.

Of course, her talent was indeed far behind Neji's.

These were objective factors.

What was important was the Main and Branch Family system, which constantly emphasized the master-servant relationship between the two.

Neji had once sincerely sworn to protect Hinata and help her grow.

But in her heart, Hinata resisted the title of heir that was thrust upon her and the training she was forced to undergo.

She was like a bird trapped in a cage.

And Neji was another "caged bird" who had been locked up even earlier.

From birth, he was taught to obey absolutely and protect the Main Family.

Young Neji didn't understand the meaning of these words.

It wasn't until his father, Hizashi, died that Neji truly realized the real meaning behind those words.

That night, Hinata was kidnapped by a ninja leader, a "peace envoy" from Kumogakure.

The enemy's objective was the Hyuga Clan's bloodline and the Byakugan.

Hyuga Hiashi discovered this incident and eventually rescued Hinata, but he also killed the ninja leader.

Since Kumogakure and Konoha had just ended a war.

Kumogakure not only denied the kidnapping but also falsely accused Hiashi, demanding his head as compensation, or else they would go to war again.

Konoha was in a difficult position.

The Third Hokage, fearing the outbreak of another war, ultimately chose to compromise and agreed to hand over Hyuga Hiashi.

However, it was Hizashi, Neji's father from the Branch Family, who ultimately went to his death in Hiashi's place.

At Hizashi's funeral, Neji's crying made Hinata deeply realize that she too was just another kind of "caged bird."

Hinata wanted to escape the suffocating scene.

And on her way escaping, she met Naruto.

At that time, Hinata had personally told Naruto that he was like a beam of light that had broken into her dark world.

But even after hearing all of this from Hinata's mouth.

At that time, Naruto mostly just repeated the steps to reconcile the two parties in endless cycles of reincarnation.

It wasn't until this life, after being prompted by Orochimaru to look back carefully, that Naruto suddenly realized.

Those so-called reconciliations were perhaps just Neji's helpless "acceptance of fate" after countless futile resistances.

The curse mark of the "caged bird" remained etched on his forehead, only to disappear upon death.

As for why Hinata had always been secretly watching him, the reason was very simple.

In the eyes of the Main Family, no matter how talented Neji was, he was ultimately just a servant whose final fate was to die protecting the Main Family, and it didn't matter at all.

Therefore, the clan's training resources were always tilted towards Hinata.

But Hinata herself also detested all of this, not just the physical exhaustion but also the mental toll.

So whenever training ended, Hinata would secretly sneak away to watch Naruto.

Even just looking at him from afar, she would blush unconsciously.

Because for Hinata, to break free from the cage of destiny's constraints, she needed a key.

And the key in her eyes was precisely that Naruto Uzumaki, who never gave up and always worked hard.